Carpentry and Joinery Pricing Guide UK — Day Rates and Job Costs for 2026

Day Rates for Carpenters and Joiners (2026)

Day rates vary significantly by speciality, region and the type of work being priced. As a guide for 2026:

• General carpenter (site work): £160 – £280 per day
• Specialist carpenter (period restoration, bespoke furniture): £200 – £350 per day
• Workshop joiner: £180 – £300 per day
• London and South East premium: add 20 – 30% to the above

These are sole-trader day rates for labour only. If you are running a small team or pricing as a limited company with overheads, your effective rate needs to be higher to cover those costs. A van, insurance, tools and materials storage all have a real daily cost that your rate must absorb.

First-Fix Carpentry: What It Covers and What It Costs

First-fix carpentry is the structural timber work carried out before plastering — everything hidden in the finished building. It includes stud partitions, floor joists, roof timbers, window frames and any structural timber packing or plates. Joinery is workshop-based manufacture of timber components such as staircases, windows, doors and fitted furniture, which are then delivered to site for installation. Many carpenters do both site work and joinery.

Common first-fix jobs and typical labour costs (materials separate):

• Stud partition wall (100mm CLS, 10 – 15m²): £200 – £500 per wall labour only. Materials — CLS timber, plasterboard, screws and noggins — are priced and supplied separately.
• Stud partition with door opening: add £50 – £100 for lintel and head framing.
• Roof structure / new build roof: £8 – £20/m² of roof area; ridge and hip runs priced at £15 – £30 per running metre for labour.
• Floor joist installation or replacement: £40 – £80 per running metre plus materials.
• Loft hatch and retractable ladder (Fakro or Werner): £150 – £300 installed, including the hatch unit.
• Steel beam timber packing and bearing plates: £200 – £500 per beam depending on size and access.

First-fix work is physical and often awkward — tight roofspaces, floor voids and live sites. Do not let the fact that the finish is hidden tempt you into pricing it cheaply. The skill and time required are the same as second fix.

Second-Fix Carpentry Jobs and Costs

Second fix is everything visible after the plasterer has finished. It is the public face of your work, and finish quality is immediately apparent to the client. Typical 2026 prices:

• Skirting board fitting: £5 – £10 per metre labour only (consistent with decorator rates for the same task).
• Architrave fitting: £5 – £10 per metre labour only.
• Internal door (hang and fit, door not supplied): £80 – £150 per door.
• External door (fit only, more complex weathering and locking): £150 – £300.
• Door frame fitting only: £100 – £200.
• Staircase (fit pre-made treads and spindles): £400 – £1,200 depending on complexity and number of balustrade components.
• Loft conversion staircase (bespoke): £1,500 – £4,000 supply and fit.
• Bedroom fitted wardrobes (per linear metre, supply and fit): £300 – £800/m. IKEA PAX-style units sit at the lower end; fully bespoke hardwood or painted MDF at the upper end.
• Kitchen units fitting (labour only, standard kitchen): £2,000 – £4,000.

Bespoke Joinery and Fitted Furniture

Bespoke joinery — items designed, made and fitted to measure from raw timber — commands a significant premium over standard installation work. You are selling a one-off product. The prices below include supply and fit unless stated:

• Bespoke fitted wardrobe (3m wide, floor to ceiling): £2,000 – £5,000 depending on internal configuration, finish and hardware.
• Alcove shelving with cupboards below: £600 – £1,500 per alcove.
• Bespoke bookcase: £800 – £3,000 depending on size and species.
• Window seat with storage: £800 – £2,000.
• Home office built-in desk unit: £1,500 – £4,000.
• Timber-framed garden room or summerhouse (3m × 3m, supply and erect): £3,000 – £8,000 depending on specification, cladding and roof covering.

If you are producing bespoke joinery and quoting at flat-pack installation rates, you are losing money on every job. The premium is not negotiable — it reflects the skill, time and material cost involved in making something from scratch that cannot be replicated cheaply.

Materials Costs and Specification

Timber prices remain higher than pre-2021 levels and have been volatile. Always quote materials at current trade prices at time of survey. Common material costs for 2026:

• CLS constructional timber 4×2 (47×100mm): £1.00 – £2.00 per metre.
• CLS 3×2 (47×75mm): £0.80 – £1.50 per metre.
• MDF 18mm sheet: £20 – £35 per sheet; moisture-resistant MDF £25 – £45 per sheet.
• Birch plywood 18mm: £40 – £80 per sheet; structural ply £35 – £60 per sheet.
• Hardwood (oak, ash, walnut) per running metre: £8 – £30 depending on section size and species.
• Paint-grade softwood skirting (torus or ogee profile): £3 – £8 per metre.

A markup of 15 – 25% on materials is standard. You are sourcing, collecting, transporting and taking responsibility for those materials — that has a real cost and risk attached to it. Never pass materials through at cost.

Timber vs MDF for Fitted Furniture

The choice between solid timber, plywood and MDF affects both cost and outcome. Understanding this helps you advise clients and spec jobs correctly:

• MDF is cheaper, machines cleanly and gives a flawless painted finish. It does not accept stain or show grain. In high-humidity areas (bathrooms, utility rooms), use moisture-resistant MDF. MDF moves with humidity changes and can delaminate at edges if not properly sealed and painted.
• Birch plywood is stronger than MDF, holds screws better and is more durable under load. It can be painted or given a clear finish showing the ply face. More expensive than MDF but worth specifying for carcass construction where the furniture will take heavy use.
• Solid hardwood (oak, ash, walnut) is the premium option for doors, drawer fronts and exposed faces. It accepts stain beautifully but is the most expensive and requires careful allowance for seasonal movement.

A combination approach — plywood carcass, MDF painted panels and solid hardwood door fronts — often delivers the best balance of performance, appearance and cost. This is worth explaining to clients when they ask why you're not building everything from solid oak.

Quoting Bespoke Carpentry Jobs

Bespoke jobs require a different quoting approach from standard installation work. The key principles:

• Materials at cost plus markup: buy at trade, add 15 – 25% and itemise this in your quote. Clients who query it can be shown what you paid.
• Time at your day rate: estimate workshop hours and site hours separately — they may be very different. A wardrobe that takes two days in the workshop takes another day on site. Quote for both.
• Minimum charge: set one and stick to it. If your minimum is half a day, a job that takes 45 minutes still costs a half day. Travel, setup and packing down have a cost regardless of job duration.
• Scope creep management: bespoke work is particularly vulnerable. Quote against an agreed written specification. Any change to that specification — an extra shelf, a different door style, additional storage — is a variation and should be quoted and agreed in writing before proceeding.

The most effective protection against scope creep is a detailed quote that describes exactly what is included. If the quote says “three internal shelves” and the client asks for five, you have a clear, documented basis for a variation charge.

Building a Carpentry Business

Growing beyond sole-trader level means knowing where your work comes from — and which channels deliver the most profitable jobs, not just the most enquiries. A carpenter who works mostly on bespoke joinery needs a very different marketing strategy from one who does first-fix on new build sites.

The practical challenge is that most carpenters have no reliable way of knowing which referral, which Google search or which trade directory listing generated which enquiry. Jobs are won, then forgotten in the diary. Without that data, it's impossible to make rational decisions about where to spend time or money on marketing.

Tracking enquiry sources does not need to be complicated. Even a simple note against each lead — where they came from, what they asked for, whether you won the job and at what price — gives you enough to see patterns over a quarter. Which channels bring in bespoke joinery enquiries vs day-rate site work? Which postcodes generate repeat business? That kind of visibility lets you make better decisions about where to invest your time.